The flow and processing of information creates ever increasing demands on the speed with which microelectronic circuitry processes such information. In particular, means of communicating between electronic devices over communication channels having high-bandwidth and high-frequency are of critical importance in meeting these demands.
Communication by means of optical channels has attracted the attention of the scientific and technological community to meet these demands. However, a basic incompatibility exists between the technology used for optical signal generation, which relies primarily on III-V semiconductor compounds, and the technology used for information processing, which relies on silicon-based, complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits (ICs). Scientists engaged in the development of ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) of microelectronic devices are keenly interested in finding a means for reconciling these disparate technologies. Thus, research scientists are actively pursuing new approaches for meeting these demands.
The drawings referred to in this description should not be understood as being drawn to scale except if specifically noted.